Film

The Long Game

• By Debbie Emery

When it comes to the historic legacy of sports movies, golf has usually been portrayed as an upper-class white man’s pastime. In sharp contrast, The Long Game tells the true story of five young Mexican-American caddies who created their own golf course in Del Rio, Texas, in 1955 after being shunned by the local country club. The drama is based on Humberto G. Garcia’s 2010 novel Mustang Miracle and follows the unlikely heroes as they beat wealthy white teams to win the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship, despite having inferior equipment and no formal training. 

The Long Game is directed by Julio Quintana and stars Dennis Quaid, Jay Hernandez, Julian Works, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brett Cullen, Oscar Nuñez and Cheech Marin. The film premiered at South by Southwest in March and is set for nationwide release on April 12, 2024.

It marks a reunion for Quintana and Quaid, who previously worked together on another sports drama, Blue Miracle. “I think it’s told in a very authentic way,” Quaid said at SXSW of their latest venture. “I could not be prouder of The Long Game, and place it in the same vein as The Rookie and Breaking Away.”

Meanwhile, Quintana described it as “a true underdog story for anyone who feels excluded or anybody who feels like they’re up against overwhelming odds.”

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Girls State

• By AC REMLER

In a scene from Girls State, the new documentary premiering April 5 on Apple TV +, a group of 500 young women in Missouri participating in a week-long elaborate laboratory of democracy are told: “We all have, in our own different ways, grown up in a world where we’ve never seen a female president. But how do we change that? We step up.”

The statement holds new promise for these headstrong teens who find themselves in a male-dominated political system where women have made strides, though not big enough to get into the Oval Office.

“Often when women start talking politics, we get shut down,” one teen laments.

The documentary shows how these determined young women build a government from the ground up, campaign for office, and form a Supreme Court to weigh the most divisive issues of the day. Girls State explores how they struggle to find their voice within our country’s political polarization while considering race and gender equality issues and confronting the unique pressures women must navigate to build political power.

From Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, the creators of the Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary, Boys State (Sundance 2020), Girls State is a real crowd-pleaser showing how hope is not lost for a new generation of future female leaders trying to make a difference in the world. As one participant exuberantly proclaims, “Women will save America!” Amen.

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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

• By Debbie Emery

Guy Ritchie is best known for his edgy British gangster dramas such as Snatch, which transformed Brad Pitt into an Irish pikey. However, Ritchie’s latest film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, takes viewers back to World War II to follow Britain’s first-ever special forces organization. Founded in 1940 by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a league of military officials that included James Bond creator Ian Fleming, the secret combat unit — known as “Special Operations Executive” or SOE — went on undercover missions against Germany and the Nazis and used “ungentlemanly” fighting techniques. While their approach was unconventional, the group’s actions ultimately changed the course of the war and led to the formation of the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare.

The movie is based on a book by Damien Lewis titled The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops, along with recently declassified files from the British war department that tell true stories from that era.   

Described as a spy action comedy thriller, The Ministry is directed and co-written by Ritchie, directed by Jerry Bruckheimer, and stars Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Henry Golding and Cary Ewles. It is set for release on April 19.

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DAMSEL

• By RICH ANDREW

Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Salvation) has delivered an exciting new fantasy that’s already catching fire. Tackling the titular role of the damsel is Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes 2) playing Elodie, a young maiden who is urged by her father to accept a marriage proposal to the prince of the realm in order to elevate their people’s station. Upon meeting the dashing Prince Henry, Elodie seems immune to his charms until they discover a mutual love of adventure. At the end of their wedding ceremony sealed in royal blood, Queen Isabelle leads the happy couple down a narrow path through the mountains to complete an ancient ritual that started with their first king of Aurea who had to sacrifice his daughters to the realm’s dragons to keep the peace. In this moment, Prince Henry hurls his new bride into the dragon’s lair below. Elodie survives the fall but now must navigate her way through the abyss, heeding past victims’ messages scrawled in blood of where to hide and how to escape. With a star-studded cast also featuring Ray Winstone (The Gentlemen), Angela Bassett (9-1-1), Brooke Carter (The Peripheral), Nick Robinson (Snack Shack), Robin Wright (Devil’s Peak), Milo Twomey (Rani Takes on the World), Nicole Joseph (Casualty), and Shohreh Aghdashloo (Chad), Damsel shows off quite the hero in the making.

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